Have you ever thought about what would happen if a gun finds its way into a child’s hands? Catastrophic right? But, the way gun control is being handled in the United States makes it seem like just about anyone can obtain a gun. Gun control laws should be made stricter so it is harder for people such as criminals to obtain guns.

As of right now, the overall crime index has dropped one-third since the early 1990s which may be the reason fewer people feel the need to own a gun. Even still, guns are still dangerous whether or not a multitude of people have them because just one person could do a lot of harm. Americans also keep 50% of all the guns in the world but the U.S. only has 5% of the world’s population, which shows how unnecessary having so many guns is and that reducing the amount would be beneficial to everybody.

Furthermore, gun bans are effective in reducing crime rates. In Australia, the 1996 ban on automatic and semiautomatic weapons reduced gun-related homicides by 59% over the next decade. People may argue that gun bans will not change anything because criminals will still find a way to obtain guns but the statistics of Australia’s gun ban show otherwise.

Besides crime, another serious issue is the mere act of having guns in a household which is a threat to all household members. A gun in the household doubles the risk a household member will kill himself or herself, so if there were fewer guns in households then the suicide rate would drop. An American is also 50% more likely to be shot dead by his or her own hand than to be shot dead by a criminal assailant. People buy guns because they want to protect themselves from criminals but people do not see that having guns makes you your own biggest threat.

Without guns, fewer people would die, whether it is criminals not being able to kill people or just accidents. In a case similar to the Sandy Hook tragedy, a mentally ill man came into a school with a knife and injured 23 children but no one was killed. This shows that people have a harder time killing other people without guns. To reiterate what I stated above, suicide rates would drop with a ban on guns. In Australia, because of the 1996 ban, the suicide rate declined by 65% over the next decade.

People may say that American culture is to blame for our violence, but that is not entirely true. Nearly identical cultures such as Japan are exposed to the same violence we are but their gun-related homicide rate is miniscule. Due to the severity of crimes shown on television, it seems that the crime rate is going up, which may be the reason gun sales are spiking. This is false because news stations such as FOX only show the most interesting stories which are usually the most graphic. Stations like FOX create a false picture of a country threatened by vicious criminals, especially targeting the nonwhite criminals.

If we truly want this nation to be a safer place for the future generations, we would enforce gun control and make sure fewer people are harmed by its fatal effects. Guns are a danger to everyone. Having easy access to guns is not the safest course of action for anyone, so gun control laws should be made stricter. There should be no place for guns in this society, just think about the kids of the Sandy Hook shooting and then reflect on how guns did more harm than good in the end.

Works Cited
Frum, David, and The Opinions Expressed in This Commentary Are Solely Those of David Frum. "Fear Drives Opposition to Gun Control." CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.
Powell, Brian. "Fox News' Racial Crime Coverage Is Hurting People." Web log post. Media Matters. N.p., 23 Aug. 2013. Web. 5 Jan. 2014.
Zakaria, Fareed. "The Solution to Gun Violence Is Clear." Washington Post. N.p., 19 Dec. 2012. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.